When you dreamt of your dream kitchen, you had grand ideas of clean space, magazine-fit design and uncluttered functionality, which you determined to keep that way with this edict: “Make magnets go away!” It was a nice thought. The average kitchen is a home’s grand central station, and is a perfect spot for posting chore charts, reminders, photos, and your kindergartener’s latest work of art. If you yearn for a cleaner-looking space, one way to achieve that is to make magnets using a theme. Start by getting rid of all of those magnets you picked up from truck stops and your insurance agency. Using one theme for magnets will help pull together the items you are displaying, and rather than distract, your magnets will complement the display. Find out here how to make refrigerator magnets you can display with pride.

A second idea for bottle-cap magnets is to glue photos or pictures to the inside. (This idea comes from Martha StewartLiving magazine, which suggests using black-and-white pictures.)

Buttons – Do you have a jar or tin filled with buttons? Dig out a dozen or so of the biggest, most unusual buttons from your stash and turn them into magnets. Yard sales are an excellent resource for buttons, from which you can buy a whole bag for less than the price of a card of six buttons from the store. Be sure to check sewing or hobby stores, which stock a wide variety of novelty buttons.

CD Display – CD cases make ideal frames for photos, cards, recipes, and other print media on your refrigerator. The case protects the contents from wet, sticky hands. Print out your own photo to the dimensions of the CD case, or make a matte within the case to frame your photo. Do not glue the CD case closed to give you the option to change it up every now and then.

Flat marbles – You can find these at any craft store or florist. They are normally used in vases to hold flowers in place, and come in many colors. You could choose more than one color, but for added variety look for different sizes as well. A variation on this theme is to choose clear, glass, flat marbles and glue pictures or tiny photos to the flat side of the marble before gluing the magnet to the back. You need a clear adhesive for this project in order to see the picture clearly once it dries. After applying the glue to the picture, center the glass on it and work out any bubbles in the glue.

Geek style – Any small, broken, well-loved gadget will make a great magnet in this theme. If you still have your old nerdy prescription glasses from a few decades ago, you are in luck. Take off the legs and use them as miniature frames. You can pop out the lens to use it as a pattern for the picture, then pop it back in. Recycle old worthless computers by tearing out the parts to convert into magnets. Use the keycaps from old keyboards to spell words. If the letters are worn off or too small, spray paint the keycaps then stencil letters, numbers or symbols.

Hobby – Are you a gamer? Pick up an extra copy of your favorite board game (at a thrift store, if it’s a classic) and use the pieces to make magnets. Scrabble’s tile-shaped letters would be a fantastic choice which, obviously, would also allow the kids to practice their spelling.

Nature – Using natural elements to make magnets can look elegant and cozy at the same time, but you may need to strengthen or preserve them first. A dip in melted wax or varnish should do the trick. Try baby Indian corn, dried orange slices and tiny pine cones. Shells make sturdy magnets, as do walnut-shell halves.

Tiles – One-inch square tiles come in beautiful colors. Do you have a backsplash with these tiles? Use them for magnets if you had enough left over; but be sure to save enough for future repairs on that backsplash. Buy tiles in two or three colors that will coordinate with your kitchen. For instance, if you have a black-and-white checkerboard floor, get black and white tiles. Tiles work with many styles of kitchen décor.

Kid-friendly – When your children are toddlers and preschoolers, magnets can be a mommy mind-saver. Babies and young children love to play with magnets, and will do so happily and quietly for hours. Make them baby-proof by only using magnets that are larger than three inches, and test the magnet to make sure it won’t pop off and be ingested. Better yet, use the business card sized magnet. You can find them at an office supply store. It has a peel-off sticker, ready to have a business card applied. Apply these magnets to solid toys (teethers, flat-shaped rattles) of various shapes and textures.

For preschoolers, look for plastic bendable figures (remember Gumby?) to which you can glue magnets. They will have fun posing them over and over again, and then arranging them on the fridge.

To help your preschool children, keep an assortment of educational magnets that don’t have to stay on your refrigerator in a bucket that is readily available to them. Good ideas include giant letters of the alphabet, animals left over from an old wooden puzzle that had a missing piece or two, and objects with different textures, like sandpaper, felt, rubber, fur, or rock. These can all be great teaching tools.

About MagnetsYou have two choices of magnets for making refrigerator magnets: rubber and ceramic. Rubber magnets come in rolled strips or sheets, sometimes with a self-stick surface on one side. You can cut them to the size you want with scissors or a knife. Sheets of rubber magnet are also sold precut the size of a business card. Rubber-strip magnets are the weakest magnets, but they will hold from 8 to 12 ounces per square inch. Heavier objects (such as tiles or flat marbles) require magnets with stronger pull, so choose ceramic magnets. Ceramic magnets come in many sizes and can be purchased from a craft store or through an Internet supplier.

Unless you are using self-stick magnets, you will need to choose the best type of glue for your project. Hot glues work well for porous surfaces. Nonporous surfaces (like metals) may need all-purpose cement, like Goop. Try other all-purpose gel-type glues (silicone sealer) or some kind of contact cement.

Some people just don’t like magnets, or anything else, on the refrigerator, but these themed sets of magnets might change a few minds. Once you have finished making your own personalized sets, you may decide to make magnets as gift sets for families, new neighbors and old friends. Present them in tins to keep them from tumbling together. Don’t be surprised if they come back asking for the directions for how they can make more.

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